Credit: The Associated Press

FILE - In this May 14, 1933 file photo, John D. Rockefeller, Sr. is surrounded by state troopers and admirers as he attended church in Lakewood, N.J. In the early 21st century, members of the economic elite are looking for ways to reduce the nation's growing income inequality for a variety of reasons, from self-interest to pangs of conscience. (AP Photo, File)

Credit: The Associated Press

FILE - In this Aug. 2, 2013 file photo, venture capitalist Nick Hanauer stands by the window of his office in downtown Seattle. He holds a copy of "Democracy: A Journal of Ideas," which includes an article he co-authored promoting an economy driven by a strong middle class. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

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As the middle class struggles to make gains and President Barack Obama strives to shine a spotlight on the issue of income inequality, an unlikely constituency is looking for ways to close the nation's growing wealth gap: A handful of top U.S. business tycoons.